TONIGHT’S GAME:The Rangers will face-off against the Carolina Hurricanes at Madison Square Garden (7:30 p.m.; TV: MSG Network; Radio: 1050 ESPN Radio), as they continue their seven-game homestand. The Blueshirts currently sit atop the Eastern Conference standings, and rank second in the league overall, with a record of 43-18-7 (93 pts). The Rangers enter the contest having defeated the New York Islanders, 4-3, in overtime on Sunday at Madison Square Garden to begin their seven-game homestand, and are now 14-6-3 in their last 23 games. The Hurricanes enter the contest with a 26-28-15 (67 pts) record to rank 13th in the Eastern Conference, and have lost four of their last six games. Following the contest, the Rangers will face-off against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday, Mar. 15, at Madison Square Garden (7:00 p.m.), in an Atlantic Division match-up.

RANGERS vs. HURRICANES:

All-Time: 58-48-7-2 overall (35-17-4-2 at home; 23-31-3-0 on the road)

2011-12: Tonight is the fourth and final meeting this season, and the second at Madison Square Garden. New York is 3-0-0 overall (1-0-0 at home;2-0-0 on the road) following a 3-2 win on Mar. 1 at Carolina. The Rangers have out-scored the Hurricanes, 13-6, in the series, including a 6-1 advantage in the third period. New York is 2-10 (20.0%) on the power play in three games. Marian Gaborik leads the Rangers in scoring with four points (two goals, two assists). Henrik Lundqvist is 1-0-0 with a 1.00 GAA and .971 Sv%, while Martin Biron is 2-0-0 with a 2.51 GAA and .907 Sv%.

Last Season: New York was 2-2-0 overall (1-1-0 at home; 1-1-0 on the road). Three of their four meetings were decided by one goal, including two that required extra time. The Rangers’ power play was 3-14 (21.4%) in the series. Ryan Callahan tied for the team-high with two goals and three points in two games, while Brandon Dubinsky (one goal, two assists) and Ryan McDonagh led the team with two assists apiece. Henrik Lundqvist was 2-2-0 with a 2.92 GAA and .915 Sv%.

The Blueshirts have won five of their last six games against the Hurricanes

New York ranks seventh with a 23-7-2 (48 pts) record at home; Carolina ranks 27th with a 9-15-9 (27 pts) mark on the road

The Rangers are 13-2-2 vs. the Southeast Division; the Hurricanes are 3-12-3 vs. the Atlantic Division

New York lists no former Hurricanes on their roster

Carolina lists no former Rangers on their roster

INDIVIDUAL CAREER LEADERS vs. HURRICANES:

Henrik Lundqvist — 20 GP, 11-8-1, 2.37 GAA, 1 SO

Martin Biron — 21 GP, 12-4-1-2, 2.53 GAA, 1 SO

Brad Richards — 49 GP, 12-30-42

Marian Gaborik — 17 GP, 9-9-18

Ruslan Fedotenko — 48 GP, 14-8-22

Ryan McDonagh — 5 GP, 1-3-4

SPECIAL TEAMS:The Rangers penalty kill has held opponents scoreless in five of the last six games (17-18, 94.4%), and are 22-24 (91.7%) in the last eight contests. The Rangers are tied for sixth in the NHL with seven shorthanded goals. The Blueshirts have posted a record of 20-1-4 in games when tallying a power play goal, and are 29-10-3 when not allowing a power play goal.

Power Play: The Rangers tallied three goals in six power play attempts (9:17) on Sunday vs. the Islanders. New York is tied for 27th overall (34-230, 14.8%) and ranks 21st at home (19-119, 16.0%). The Rangers are 3-14 (11:24) in five-on-three situations (last – 3/2 at TBL), and 2-9 (12:08) when four-on-three (last – 3/11 vs. NYI). Shorthanded goals allowed (3): 12/5 vs. TOR (Steckel); 12/8 vs. TBL (Moore); 12/17 at PHX (Korpikoski).

HOMESTAND
The Rangers began their seven-game homestand with a 4-3 overtime win on Sunday vs. the Islanders. The seven-game homestand is tied as the longest in franchise history, and is their longest since 2001-02. The Blueshirts’ previous seven-game homestands were in 1969-70 (4-0-3-0), 1972-73 (4-3-0-0), 1977-78 (3-3-1-0), and 2001-02 (3-2-1-1). The Rangers are one of five teams with a homestand of seven or more games on their 2011-12 regular season schedule (Winnipeg – 8, Colorado – 8, Tampa Bay – 7, Vancouver – 7).

HOME SWEET HOME
The Blueshirts’ 23-7-2 (48 pts) mark at MSG is their best record at home through 32 games since 1993-94 (22-6-4, 48 pts).

SOUTHEAST FEAST
The Rangers have posted a record of 13-2-1 against Southeast Division opponents this season, having out-scored their opponents, 58-34, in those contests.

SIBLING RIVALRYRangers’ defenseman Marc Staal has faced off against his older brother, Carolina forward Eric Staal, 17 times in his career, amassing a 9-7-1 record with five points (two goals, three assists) and 10 penalty minutes. Eric has registered an 8-6-3 mark with 12 points (five goals, seven assists) and 10 penalty minutes.

PLACE IN HISTORYThe Rangers’ .679 win% is the team’s best record through 67 games in 18 years, when the 1993-94 Blueshirts began the season with a 43-19-5 record (.679 win%), and is tied as the fourth best mark in franchise history. The Rangers reached the 40-win mark in 61 games, which is tied as the second fastest to 40-wins in franchise history.

MEASURING UPThe Rangers rank among the NHL leaders in several statistical categories…

2nd in points (93)

2nd in win% (.684)

3rd in wins (43)

2nd in regulation/overtime wins (40)

T-1st in fewest regulation losses (18)

2nd in fewest goals against (143)

T-2nd in GAA (2.10)

1st in hits (2,027)

4th in blocked shots (1,109)

4th in +/- rating (plus-37)

6th in goal differential (plus-40)

QUICK HITS:

This is the latest the Rangers have been in first place of the Eastern Conference standings since the 1995-96 season, when New York held the top position through games played on Mar. 15, 1996 (NYR game #68). *courtesy of the Elias Sports Bureau

New York has registered at least one point in 45 of their last 60 games (40-15-5), dating back to Oct. 29, after beginning the season with a 3-3-2 mark

New York is 16-2-3 when leading after the first period and 26-0-3 when leading after the second

The Rangers rank second in the league with a .278 win% when trailing after two periods (5-12-1); The Blueshirts are tied for eighth in the NHL with five third period comeback wins, and have trailed entering the third in only 18 games this season (second fewest in the NHL)

New York leads the NHL with a .727 win% when out-shooting their opponent (24-8-1)

The Rangers lead the league when scoring first, posting a 30-3-3 mark (.833 win%) in those contests; Their 30 wins are tied for third in the NHL

THE HOT LIST:

Marian Gaborik — 27 points (10 goals, 17 assists) in the last 26 games; eight points (four goals, four assists) in the last seven games

Brad Richards — three-game point streak (three goals, two assists over the span); 16 points (five goals, 11 assists) in the last 17 games; 10 points (three goals, seven assists) in the last nine games

Derek Stepan — six points (two goals, four assists) in the last seven games

Ryan Callahan — 12 points (nine goals, three assists) in his last 13 games; three goals in his last five games

Carl Hagelin — nine points (four goals, five assists) in the last 13 games; seven points (three goals, four assists) in the last nine games

Michael Del Zotto — 12 points (two goals, 10 assists) in his last 19 games; nine assists in his last 14 games

Anton Stralman — eight assists in his last 16 games; four assists in his last five games

376 Comments

Can’t believe I’m going to be under the garden for the first time in a couple years. Stars aligned and they just so happen to be playing a home game and this poor schlub still can’t see his beloved blue shirts…….damn the man!

I just checked the thread from yesterday. Things get weird here after hours. Also, to newbear, I never said what you quoted me as saying. I said I would be moving close to where ilb lives. So, your poor attempt at a homophobic joke just fails on all fronts.

Shore, by your metric, 4/5 of the league is below .500. If you turn the SO wins into ties (as they previously were) instead of treating it like a loss, then they are still well above .500, and riding a 9 game unbeaten streak.

GM Meetings Update –
“Hybrid icing is a mixture of touch and no-touch icing. The combination would give a linesman the discretion to blow his whistle and stop play if he determines that a defending player will reach the puck first. If that isn’t clear, he will let the race to the puck play out the way it does now”

Doesn’t make sense as the more dangerous ‘races’ that result in collisions between players and/or boards is not eliminated.

From what i gathered, the new hybrid rule would be a race to the face off circle. if offensive player gets there first play continues, if defensive player gets there first play stops. Plenty of time to stop before the boards.

Doodie, not saying NYR deserve to be ranked on top now. But it did take NYR 5 weeks with the best PPG to get ranked #1. Pens have a good run and all of a sudden they are better than STL Van, others…we’ll see. Oh, and they get Crosby back soon. So that makes them best as of this moment?

I think we are at a point where it’s either; (1) no touch icing and the rebirth of the two line pass; or (2) eliminate fighting. The first might actually prevent injuries while the second, as ORR would say, is just a @red herring@.

The pleasure was all ours. Im sure Ive said this before, but its worth repeating, I can say without a doubt that there’s not a more genuinely good, big-hearted 2 people on this planet than ilb and the mrs. Ive gotten to know them very well over the past year, and theyve become more than family, theyve become role models to me. If this world was mostly comprised of people like them, lets just say the world would be an infinitely better place.

Love you, Mama! Have a great time tonight! Glad you have an awesome guy to go with you!

“eddie – you are posting comments to quickly. Also, please remember that you posted these Beatles lyrics with a reference to Sean Avery last year on November 7th at 8:13 P.M. after an entire magnum of Cabernet”

“David Klein – please cease and desist from all manic behavior. Your daughter may be reading this blog at this very minute. In fact, your daughter might be doing any number of things that are damaging to her fragile mental state. Please exit the computer and attend to your daughter rather than posting juvenile taunts to another full-grown adult. Your daughter needs you.”

“eric – you are posting comments while far too depressed. Please step away from the computer and call the nearest medical professional. If you have them available, please ingest any and all pills that might lift your spirits. Remember, this is not the end of the world. You are a funny, outgoing and very personable fellow with a wonderful family. There are bigger fish to fry. After contacting a local medical professional please check back with the blog so that people refrain from worrying themselves sick about you.”

“ORR – please slow down your posting. Take a minute to think to yourself if everyone on this blog would appreciate the penis or boob joke you are about to unleash. Sit back and take a few spoonfuls of Ben & Jerry’s and let the incendiary pun meditate in your mind for a few minutes. Done? Do you still want to post that? Do you think it might offend the women? If so, please proceed at your own risk.”

“NYR_FAN – please stop posting (about the ^hobbit wizard^) at such a rapid rate. Maybe you haven’t heard but he was recalled recently and is now a member of the New York Rangers active squad. You’re wishes have been granted. You can now relax and get back to bobsled practice. Cool Runnin’s. Should the ^hobbit wizard a/k/a lord of the rink^ be demoted to the AHL yet again, we will inform you of such decision and you may continue demanding his prompt return at that point.”

“Carp – you are posting snark at far too rapid a rate for this blog to handle. Do not fear the detractors that come around merely to spit hot fire at you from their armchair positions. They do not understand the complexity that goes into your life and your musings which are published haughtily on the internet. For now, place your shoes on your shinebox and assume the problem will resolve itself.”

“Lloyd: You are posting comments far too quickly. It is obvious to all that you have not only not taken the time to understand the person’s position with whom you are arguing but it is obvious to me that you have not even read their response to your previous post. Further, I would suggest re-reading your own posts above to make sure that your points are consistent. It is brutally clear that you have forgotten what it is you are arguing about and more importantly you have forgotten which side you are on. In the future, try to remember that things you post on this blog represent you in a capacity that is different, but not altogether less important, than it would be in person. Always try to put your best foot forward. Good luck. (If you’re reading this I am proud of you – I assumed you would just skip this also)”

“Guest Bloggers Stink – Reveal yourself you cowardly buffoon! You appear out of the mist whenever someone other than Carp posts a game review. You dastardly brute! You insult from your castle on high without submitting yourself to the fair pressures and consequences of a regular person. Reveal yourself I say lest the dragon of this blog publish your IP address and real identity”

“Latona: Disclaimer: Welcome Back lunch czar. Yours is a tough path. People will ridicule your choices but you must stand strong in the face of such backlash. Your moderate and clear opinions may be taunted by the more rash folks who post all day, and not just after their work-day is through. Stay noble. Stay humble. Good luck, soldier.”

Manny – I suffer from OCP obsessive compulsive posting. It began some time ago. At first I would post on occasion – but soon it started to ratchet up. In short time, I found myself posting first thing in the morning. Hiding in the corner. Before long, I was lying about my postings. I began to make excuses when people could smell posts on my breath. My family left me. I was fired from my job. I didn’t care, I had to post. Soon I hit bottom with the help of a higher power. I joined PA, my first words during recovery – hi, I am eddie Eddie Eddie and I post to much. I have been clean and post free until just now and it seems I am having a relapse. Let me go get some of my higher power from my secret drawer.

Also, if Avery retires, the rangers should make him a bench coach. He is smart, knows hockey, is an inspiration to his team mates, and there will never be a shortage of OJ.

“DeaR Greg ZzZZzzZzzzZZz: The blog was unable to translate your unique and alien language. Your enthusiasm is no doubt inspirational however, without sounding xenophobic, it is the wish of this blog that all posts be in english, spanish, russian, german g(j)ibberish or another recognized, and wifely understood, language. Your alien speak, although enthusiastic, is unidentifiable by this blog and therefore, I request that you edit your post.”

“CT – Thank you for posting to answer the technical questions asked of you by numerous posters as well as the blog leader (a/k/a blogfather). At this time we request that you refrain from posting for another 5 minutes so that you may consolidate all follow up questions and answers into one post. Remember, the people on this blog are of low intelligence and severely inadequate comprehension skills. Therefore, please keep your post concise and use only monosyllabic verbiage.”

looks like they’re shelving the 2-minutes for the hand pass idea. don’t really know how I feel about it, just sort of feels like we don’t need another excuse to call a penalty. we seem to have more than enough of those already.

Manny,
Your excellent posts today is a living prove, that none of us is a dumb as all of us. So, never underestimate the power of silly people in large groups.
Now, can you do it on yourself (in a good way, of course)?

“Blogmama, you are posting comments too quickly, especially considering that you said you were leaving to going to work/sleep 45 minutes ago. Please refrain from posting further comments, as you really do need to go to work/sleep already. Your newspaper will be waiting for you when you return.”

CT, you are posting numbers too quickly. You should stop and realize that hockey is played on ice and not on a Cartesian plane. You should also realize that only and your “friends” at the nerd factory care about Corsi/Fenwick/QualComp and GvT. Why don’t you go back to trying to defend Carlos Beltran and denigrate Donny Baseball using WAR and STATS that are no good in real life.

“Tiki – Please review your post. If it disagrees with any of the following assertions please edit as necessary and where noted. First, Boston does not hate you. Therefore, you should not hate it. Second, everyone is not out to get you. People on this blog enjoy your company and yes, sometimes goat you into arguments, but you should not, I repeat NOT, be dragged into them. Third, please feel free to express yourself on this blog even if it announces your love or lust for a hockey player. Fourth, and finally, have a great day, and remember, the blog is always here for you so don’t take such long absences.”

Lloyd – In Bulgaria (and surrounding countries) a car was once made of cardboard. It’s true. In a brilliant Serbian film, “Black Cat, White Cat” directed by the much acclaimed Emir Kusturica, a goat eats one of these cards throughout the film. It’s quite good comic relief!

Ugh on the Crosby news. Can’t stand the kid…can’t stand his team…can’t stand their fans…can’t stand the NHL brass who deems him the greatest player on the planet and shoves him down our throats like he’s Wayne Gretzky (He’s NOT)

And can’t stand the thought of losing the division to those clowns from Pittsburgh…or losing ANYTHING to them and their fans who existed between the years of Lemieux and Crosby and abandoned the club in between until the league had to save their pathetic franchise.

So…that being said. I hope the Rangers treat tonight as the chance to maul an inferior opponent and get themselves ready for the Pens on Thursday. I want to see them play them as hard as they have played most of the year. I wanna see NO MERCY given to Cindy. If he’s open for a hit, hit him. Hit him hard. Drive him through the glass.

Do I want an illegal hit with intent to injure? No. Do I want to see him drilled without fear of the officials protecting him? Yes

Big game tonight. Can’t look past the Canes, despite the fact they are with Columbus as the worst road team in the NHL.

What sicks about the Crosby situation is I dislike everything about him intensely (and more, I hate his byfuglien team) but I can’t really root against the guy after what he just went through. It really feels like the guy is on borrowed time as far as his career is concerned, and I don’t want to see his livelihood wiped out.

Maybe I’ll change my mind if he comes back and starts lighting it up again. It’s just hard to imagine the guy can be as fragile as he appears and still play “his game.”

Manny – You are posting comments that are too easily translated into cheap Buttman magazine-related innuendo by the blog’s plasma screen owning Europansy contingent. Please try again after a 15 minute break from peeping through your telescope at females undressing in the building opposite.

“LW: You are posting comments from an IP address recognized as “Europansy.” Please proceed to the following quiz which, should you pass, will declare you, “not a Europansy” and allow you to post on this blog. Further, if your comment pertains to making fun of people in a quite effective and concise manner please bypass the quiz and post your snark at will.”

“Rod: You appear to be posting classified, confidential and otherwise completely unobtainable information. Therefore, we ask that you consult with your “sources” to determine that this information is ready for public divulgence as well as verifying it’s veracity. Please remember that withholding your sources will cause people to not believe you and to attack your very being. Proceed at your own risk.”

“firetorts – You do not appear to be the first one to eat your words and say you were wrong about turderella, and be happy you were wrong. Please wait until Carp, on the other hand, refuses to even acknowledge that there is a potential Ranger disaster here, and that the clueless coach ‘in charge’ might be implicit in what is happening, or more accurately what is not happening, before trying again.”

“Doodie: ERROR – your post makes too much sense. Not only does your post lack the requisite G(J)ibberish but your post seems to be making a well-thought-out and well-rationalized idea. Please edit your post to include more hatred, insanity, g(j)ibberish and, most importantly, irrational ideas at once.”

Most of the Rangers reporters and other several other hockey writers have multiple tweets about Avery right now, so either they’re all obsessed with Sean Avery or maybe it’s kind of like, you know, news.

Honestly, I said it at the trade deadline – I don’t see the different really between OchoCinco and the (current) Marty Biron. He’s been pretty miserable. I am not freaking out about it. Just saying he hasn’t been up to par. Maybe he’s injured. Who knows.

Marty Biron was the only goalie at the optional so Henrik Lundqvist should make his third straight start. John Scott and Jeff Woywitka remained on the ice as extra skaters along with Biron so they should be the healthy scratches tonight

that ringette crap is terrible. So you wouldn’t be able to make a pass from behind the circles to past the blue line…that’s really stupid. basically forces you to either turn it over at your blue line or give it away to the other team in the neutral zone, which will be the result – you’ll have guys chipping it out to the other team at center ice. in addition, you’ll constantly have guys chipping it out to the other team at center ice. So the D-men will opt to pinch knowing they can’t get burned with a long pass and be on top of the forward, who will have to receive a pass inside the blue line from the d/center deep.

Put the Blimp on yesterday at 1. After 17 straight minutes of talk about Iona and Drexel, two schools whose alumni don’t even care about, I had to bail.

LOL!

Is college basketball really that popular in the NY Metro area? Without a local team in the dance, do that many people really give a crap? I know there are many who love “March Madness”(don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the tournament and will watch); but does it justify the ridiculous amount of coverage they give it on WFAN?

Honestly, I’m not too sure, but Tubbo’s never taken his cues from anything that matters to the New York sports audience. Back when he and that nitwit Russo used to spend time discussing (and guessing) television ratings, you could actually hear radios all over the city changing channels. He’ll spend time talking about golf and actually watch golf while the show is happening – resulting in lots of poor-respiratory function fat man breathing during the dead air. His college basketball obsession is just one of about two dozen reasons I can’t listen to his show anymore.

But, if you’re looking for an arrogant fat man who’ll talk about all the stuff you don’t care about every weekday afternoon from 1-6:30, I’ve got just the show for you.

Ekes….is it gonna be Biron of the Tombstone Arizona
and the OK corral set up, with the long 44Colts and the legs spread in that wide apart stance that denotes the old west gunfighter, but doesn’t play all that well in the Garden with good shooters who can hit what they aim at.?

The New York Rangers have announced that goalie Henrik Lundqvist is day-to-day with concussion like symptoms. Lundqvist caught a high hit to the head from Josh Bailey in the third period of Sunday’s 4-3 OT win over the New York Islanders. No other details have been released, so the severity of the concussion is unknown at the moment.

Nevertheless, this is a big loss for the Rangers. Lundqvist is the most important player on the team, and in my opinion, the Rangers do not get past the first round of the playoffs without him. Look for backup goalie Martin Biron to carry the load for the remainder of the season.

Still trying to figure out what to do. We are trying to get to a cheaper section. We can’t pay 79 a game. So we are trying to get placed in a cheaper section. We don’t want to pay 73 a game, but we might do that and then sell some tickets to ease the burden if that’s the cheapest we can get.

Anyone on here LOVE really hot things? I have recently discovered Mrs. Renfro’s salsa. It is out of this world, and they make a very hot Ghost Pepper salsa. I’ve had hotter ghost pepper salsas, but this is very good and hot and enjoyable. Maybe Hank had some and couldn’t handle it, lol.

Why is everybody in such a good mood when my honey is leaving!!!!! and according to you all, Hank is on death’s door! If I weren’t going to the game tonight I’d be so sad!!!!!!!! Gotta run all! Later!!!! (and Sally, I mean it this time :)

Hartnelling hell…..forgot to mention….CTB and I are meeting pre-game about 6:15ish at the Blarney Rock….come find us!!! Shout out mama or boneheads! :) He’ll be wearing Richards, and me, eventually, Steppers…

CT re: flu shots … I asked team trainers (I think it was Rammer) a long time ago. The answer I got was that the flu shot is given for a certain strain of flu that is likely to be circulating in the area where it is administered. But these guys travel so much, and they’re around each other so much and so closely, that ultimately there’s no avoiding it going around the room. They always cross their fingers that it is isolated to one or a couple of players and doesn’t spread. But it usually does.

That’s almost true, Carp. But most importantly, when they say flu it doesn’t mean it’s an actual influenza virus that hits the team in fact, NY has barely been affected by that virus. There are hudreds of other viruses that are as infectious as flu, and NY got hit hardby them this year. And there is no vaccines against most of them